


Nobody does it better

by Silverdancer



Category: VIXX
Genre: Alternate Universe - Spies & Secret Agents, Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-15
Updated: 2015-12-15
Packaged: 2018-05-02 18:37:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,212
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5259440
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Silverdancer/pseuds/Silverdancer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"You need to get out of there. They are coming."</p><p>He knows what he's looking for, and he didn't get this far to get out empty handed.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Nobody does it better

**Author's Note:**

  * For [slashedsilver](https://archiveofourown.org/users/slashedsilver/gifts).



> All my love and thank you to R for all the help and support she gave me, and J for making all this possible in _every_ meaning possible.
> 
> And to the lovely recipient [Slashedsilver](http://archiveofourown.org/users/slashedsilver), this was made with lots of love. I tried to include as many of your requests as I could, and had a lot of fun doing this, so I hope you have fun reading it too.

**Spy**

n. pl. _spies_

> 1\. One who secretly collects information concerning the enemies of a government or group.
> 
> 2\. One who secretly collects information for a business about one or more of its competitors.
> 
> 3\. One who secretly keeps watch on another or others.

***

 

"You need to get out of there. They are coming."

Hakyeon can hear Eunji's voice through his earpiece but he doesn't answer.

He does hear the steps getting closer. His time is running out. He could leave and come back later, but he almost has it. He knows what he's looking for, and he didn't get this far to leave empty handed.

"Are you listening to me?" Still no answer. He has no time, he has to keep checking, file after file. He's almost there, he can _feel_ it, "For the love of—"

"I got it."

"What?"

"I just got it. Made a copy." He shuts down the computer, erasing any evidence that shows he was there. It's not good for business. He can hear Eunji's sigh of relief in his ear. The steps are way too close for him to get through the main door, and the windows are not an option either—it’s too high for him to jump from them. He looks around, trying to find at least a place to hide temporarily while they search for him, and he sees it behind the couch. A _grille_.

He hears Eunji typing in the background, knowing she's searching for a way out too, and asks, "Hey, do you think I could get out through the air vent?" While he waits for Eunji's answer, he starts to get the grille out. Even if he can't get outside, it's the best option he has. Even as a hiding place.

"There's a way I could get you out, but I'm not sure you can fit in the space. It seems a bit tiny," she says. He's finished unscrewing the grille. The steps are right outside the door now. Seeing it up close, it really is a bit tiny, but it will have to do.

He enters feet first. It's a tight fit, but with some wiggling and pushing, he gets inside.

"I'm in," he whispers, reaching outside for the grille. He puts it back in place just in time for security to enter the room. Hakyeon can't help the sigh that escapes him.

"Great. Amazing." he can hear Eunji blowing out her breath. The sound of typing resumes on her side; he hadn’t even noticed it was gone until now. The familiar sound soothes his nerves. "Don't scare me like this _ever again_ , Hakyeon, or I'll kill you," she says with no heat in her voice, and it makes him smile while he crawls through the vent. "Now let's get you out of there."

***

It always feels weird to Hakyeon, how his home has never felt the way his parents' home did, the way _home_ is supposed to feel. He wonders, sometimes, if that feeling was something that wasn't supposed to last. If it was something only children felt, and once you moved out, moved away, it would never feel the same again.

He hopes it's not like that, that at some point his home will feel like a _home_ , but every time he steps inside, when he takes his shoes off and looks at the space before him—clear, tidy, very little decorations or things that made it personal (something he couldn't afford in his line of work)—he’s disappointed yet again when that feeling doesn't come.

He sighs and makes his way to the bedroom, loosening his tie on the way. He doesn’t really feel like doing anything but sleep. He loves his job and the way it makes him feel. The risk, the adrenaline, the feeling he has when he escapes out of the situation unscathed, even if it's by mere seconds. _Especially_ if it's by mere seconds. But once he gets back, after the paperwork and the journey home, the adrenaline high is over and all he wants to do is to turn off his phone and sleep for a hundred years, taking advantage of the tiredness to sleep comfortably.

He falls face first into the mattress. He shouldn't have done that, he realises belatedly; he should have taken his clothes off. His suit isn’t fit for sleep. He should have gotten under the blankets. He should have put his phone to charge, because as much as he would like to just disappear from the world for a while, it’s not something he can afford. He still can do that, maybe, it wouldn't take that much time. But it would involve him _moving_ , and that is something he really doesn't want to.

And then the doorbell rings.

It's close to midnight. He's half-asleep. If he wasn’t going to move to change his clothes, he isn’t going to move to open the door in the middle of the night. He could not be home, yes, that seems reasonable.

It rings again. So Hakyeon gets up, not because he's curious but because he's annoyed. He just wants to sleep, dammit, it shouldn't be that difficult. On his way to the door he checks there’s nothing confidential in sight. Everything should be in the safe in his room, but checks anyway, not wanting to risk it.

He opens the door with a more force than is probably necessary and rests his body on the door frame, looking belligerently at the visitor.

"I'm sorry, I realize..." the visitor begins as the door opens, but then he catches sight of the look on Hakyeon’s face and stops.

"What?" Hakyeon asks. It may have come out more snappishly than he intended.

"Never mind," the visitor says, taking a step back. He probably regrets knocking on his door.

 _Good_ , Hakyeon thinks, until he sees the miserable face his unwelcome visitor is making. He's going to regret this.  "No, tell me. I'm already up, I might as well be able to help.”

 

Hakyeon ends up inviting him inside and offers him some coffee, while he makes some tea for himself.

The story is actually pretty simple. His name is Jisoo. He just moved today into the apartment down the hall, but left his keys inside his home when he went out to get some dinner. He resigned himself to sleeping on the floor, but when he saw Hakyeon return home he thought he might be able to get some help.

"And were you sitting outside your door when I got here?" Hakyeon asks, to which Jisoo nods, but doesn't add anything else. It's weird, Hakyeon thinks. It's a testament of how tired he was that he didn’t even notice.

"The landlord wasn't around?"

"I left my phone charging inside,” Jisoo explains. “I didn't think I'd need it, when I was going to be back so soon." He looks into his coffee.

Hakyeon hums, thoughtful, considering Jisoo's options. He could call the landlord, but that would probably mean Jisoo would have to wait and maybe sleep here until they arrived. That would mean having to be a nice host and say goodbye to the hundred years of sleep he was looking forward to. The other option was to help him pick the lock into his own house. It would be faster, and they wouldn't disturb the landlord. But it was probably not a good idea that the first thing the new neighbor learnt was that Hakyeon can open locked doors.

"Well, you can call from here, right? See what they tell you," he suggests. He isn't really happy with the idea of having to be awake longer than necessary, but the guy really does seem to need help.

He tries not to notice how Jisoo’s worried face is drastically transformed by the little, grateful smile he offers Hakyeon then. He fails.

While Jisoo makes the call in his living room, Hakyeon takes the opportunity to change into more comfortable clothes. Sleeping in a suit wasn't a good idea to begin with, but now it's starting to feel ridiculous.

He's plugging in his own phone to charge when he hears a soft knock on the bedroom door.

"How did it go?" Hakyeon asks, turning around to look at Jisoo, watching him eye his bedroom curiously.

"Good, I guess. She's going to come tomorrow morning so I'll meet her then," he explains, still examining the room. It must be pretty shocking, he guesses, to see such an impersonal room in a regular home, but he's not going to explain himself to a complete stranger.

"What are you going to do, then?" Hakyeon asks, and that brings Jisoo's attention back to him, face unreadable. He knows he'll probably end up offering his couch, but maybe the guy has another idea.

"I don't know. Probably stick to my initial plan, and sleep on the floor in front of the door," he says, like it's the only possible option. It surprises Hakyeon how sincere he seems. And how bad he would feel if he actually let him do that.

"Don't be stupid," he says, walking up to the closet. "You can't sleep on the floor all night." He eyes Jisoo, measuring him up. Hakyeon’s own clothes won't fit him, but he might still have some—

"What do you mean?"

His thoughts are interrupted by Jisoo. Hakyeon looks at him only to see he's the perfect representation of a curious puppy. And it surprises him, how he could be so serious one second and so _cute_ the next.

"You're sleeping here, of course," he says, and turns around to search for something Jisoo can wear. It doesn't take him long to find them. "These should fit you just fine," he says, trying not to think about the original owner of those clothes. "The bathroom's right behind you, you can go change while I prepare the couch for you."

"Hakyeon hyung"

He's halfway out of the room when he hears Jisoo call for him.

"Thanks."

There’s a tiny smile on Jisoo’s face, softening his expression even more. It's simple, and basic courtesy, but he can't help the smile that spreads over his face in return. He shouldn't feel like this, letting a cute smile and nice neighbour get to him. The life of a spy is a dangerous one. He can't go around dragging people into it.

And then Jisoo comes into the living room door wearing comfortable clothes, and he forgets his train of thought. There are not a lot of cute things in his life right now, and he could really use one.

Worst comes to worst, Hakyeon can defend himself.

(Morning greets Hakyeon with sunlight on his face, couch empty, linen and blankets folded on one side, and a simple breakfast waiting for him in the kitchen. On the table is a small note with " _Thank you :)_ " written on top, and a phone number under it. He doesn't stop the warm smile that crosses his face, and stays with him all day.)

***

"Run," Sanghyuk says, voice hurried through the earpiece, and Hakyeon stops mid-sentence, excusing himself from the conversation he’s having with the Singapore ambassador. This kind of missions are his favorites, the ones when he has to mingle and be social and get information out of someone without them noticing. Talking has always been Hakyeon’s thing. "They know there's something wrong. They don't know what yet, but security is being alerted as of right now. You need to go."

Sanghyuk isn’t one to leave a mission unfinished. If he said run, danger must be close, and Hakyeon appreciates his life too much to risk it.

"What are my options?" he asks discreetly, going for the bathroom to win some time, to keep himself moving without being suspicious. He hears the sound of a keyboard on the other side of the line and enters one of the stalls to wait for the answer.

"Shit. They have the main and back doors already covered. You could try to jump from one of the balconies on the first floor," Sanghyuk suggests, but he doesn't sound convinced. They probably would see him anyway, and Hakyeon doubts he would be able to get very far. "The other option is getting out through the roof and to the building next to this one. There's no one covering that door yet, and even if they send someone you should be able to take them easily."

Seems good. Safer than the balcony option.

"You would only need to jump to the next building's roof and get down using the fire escape."

Or maybe not. Damn.

"Let's go with the roof one," Hakyeon answers. He doesn't like heights, but right now getting out of this building alive is his priority.

"Will you be able to do it?" he hears Taekwoon say, and Hakyeon doesn't know why he's surprised to hear his voice.

"I don't have any other option, have I?" Hakyeon knows that's not an answer. He knows why Taekwoon is asking, that he's going to freeze and they are going to catch him anyway. He worries about that too, and knows that the actual answer isn’t something that would be helpful, so he pushes through, gets outside of the stall and puts his phone next to his ear to keep talking to them without raising suspicion.

"Now," he says, checking his appearance before going out of the bathroom, "how do I get to the roof?"

***

He can't do it.

Getting up there was the easy part. With no party held upstairs, Hakyeon had no trouble sneaking out through the rooftop door, even if he had to knock out a couple of guards on his way. He even found some kind of wood panel to use as a bridge to the building next to his, put it in place and started crossing over.

And then he looked down.

That must have been several minutes ago. He doesn't think he has moved since then, unable to look up from the ground. He's aware that both Sanghyuk and Taekwoon are talking to him through the earpiece; he thinks he hears their voices but he can't make out what they are saying.

He's in what he remembers to be a six story building, crouched in the middle of a sad excuse of a bridge that will probably break if he makes the wrong move. He can feel the wind whipping through his hair and his clothes and he grips the wood harder.

He can't breathe. He vaguely thinks about the guards that he's supposed to be escaping from, but even letting them catch him seems a better idea than moving on his own.

Suddenly there are hands reaching for him, grabbing his hands, touching his face.

"Hakyeon," he hears.

 _Taekwoon_.

"Look at me, Hakyeon," and he does, he has to know he's not really imagining this.

"Taekwoon," he whispers, and saying his name, seeing him nod, makes everything more real.

"Yes," Taekwoon says, "that's me. Keep looking at me. Can you move?"

Hakyeon makes a noise at the mere idea but moves his head slightly, shaking his head.

"I need you to come closer, Hakyeon. I can't come and get you, so you need to move yourself." His voice is soft and calming and Hakyeon can feel the pressure on his chest release a little.

He can do this.

***

Hakyeon has barely changed into more comfortable clothes when someone knocks on his door.

The team is staying in a little hotel in the outskirts of town and not a lot of people know they are there, so the list of people who could be knocking is not that long.

And after today's incident, it’s narrowed down to one.

He opens the door to find Taekwoon.

"Hey," Hakyeon says. He should invite him in, be polite. At least pretend to have some interest in his visit. But instead he stays silent, waiting for Taekwoon to make a move. Just because he knows why Taekwoon’s here doesn't mean he wants to have the conversation.

"Can I come in?" Taekwoon says. Hakyeon nods and lets him in, turning around wordlessly. Taekwoon closes the door when he enters, and puts the lock in place. It's a habit of his. It makes him smile a little.

He walks to the little couch in front of the bed, waiting for Taekwoon to sit beside him, but he doesn't. He chooses to stand in front of him instead. Looming over him. Trying to scare him into saying the truth, Hakyeon knows. But that doesn't work with him, making him smile more widely instead.

"What's up? Can't sleep?" he asks, getting into a more comfortable position, feigning innocence. He knows what Taekwoon is doing here, what he wants to talk about, but that doesn't mean Hakyeon's going to give it up so easily.

It doesn't work.

"What happened just now?" Taekwoon’s eyes are hard, searching for the answers he knows Hakyeon is not willing to give, ready to make Hakyeon to give them anyway, whatever means necessary—but his voice is soft, curious, worried.

And he doesn't want to give answers but in the end, he is weak. He gives in. He's always been a little easy for Taekwoon.

"I froze," he says, his eyes lowering, not daring to meet Taekwoon's, "I thought I could do it, and I was getting through it, but then I heard a sound and looked down and _panicked_. I don't remember a lot after that, to be honest."

He remembers enough, though. The feeling of not being able to breathe, of being about to fall, not being able to move, not even noticing his surroundings. And then Taekwoon's voice and focusing on him, and somehow managing to move. He's so deep in the memory, he almost doesn't hear Taekwoon's next words.

"You shouldn't have done it," Taekwoon says, and it hits Hakyeon like a punch. He knew it would come down to this, but it still hurts.

"What?"

"You shouldn't have done it. We would have thought of something, but going up there alone? What were you thinking?"

"I had to get out, were you not paying attention?"

"It was too dangerous," and Hakyeon can't stay sitting anymore.

"We're spies, Taekwoon. Everything we do is dangerous, haven’t you noticed?" he snaps, daring Taekwoon with his eyes. Taekwoon looks away, wanting to say something but deciding not to. Hakyeon knows him too well, even now. "It's going to get dangerous, even if we're all careful. That's what we do."

They stay in silence for what seems like an eternity. Hakyeon doesn't know what to do or expect but it certainly isn't what comes out of Taekwoon's mouth. "I still worry." His voice is soft, no more than a whisper.

Hakyeon doesn’t know what to say, what to do for a moment, shocked after the confession. All the things he thought he had managed to get over with come back with full force and make him lose his breath. It hurts too much.

"Yeah, well... You don't have that right, Taekwoon, not anymore." Hakyeon can’t look at him. He feels Taekwoon's eyes on him for a long, long moment, probably expecting him to say something else, but Hakyeon doesn't have any more words left to say.

Taekwoon leaves without a word, slamming the door on his way out.

(Talking has always been Hakyeon's thing. But it never worked with Taekwoon.)

***

If his flat didn't feel like a home on regular days, lately it was starting to feel like a prison.

It's the first time since he started working for the agency that Hakyeon has spent so much time at home. The fact that he's doing it because he broke his arm in the last mission does not make him feel better.

He's lucky it's just the arm and not, say, his leg. He'll be back in the field in no time, the doctor said. Plus, it was a clean break. He sometimes thinks about that, trying to make himself feel better. It means he'll be able to go back to work faster.

But it doesn't work when he's been away for a month and still has a couple of months to go and he misses everything. He misses feeling useful, doing things, even if it was stay awake all night listening to pointless conversations. He misses the thrill of completing the mission, finally. He misses going back to a foreign hotel room, collapsing and being able to sleep deeply, and waking up before dawn just to see the sunrise in a different country. He misses his partners, all of them. He misses Jaehwan’s jokes, and Wonshik’s companionship, and Hongbin’s smile, and even Sanghyuk’s cheekiness. Misses Eunji scolding him, and Hani’s honesty, and Sojin’s fond smile at her team’s antics. Misses all the idle time, the jokes, the celebratory dinners. He even misses the reports.

(He misses Taekwoon, too.)

***

It all happens in a second.

"Oh, come on hyung, don't pout so much," Jaehwan says, laughing, eyes on the traffic. He doesn't need to look at him to know that he is, as Hakyeon is very vocal with his complaining.

"I just... I would have made a very pretty bait," he says, ignoring Jaehwan's comment. "I cannot be the only one thinking that dress and wig looked really good on—turn right—really good on me."

"Got it," Jaehwan says, changing lanes and getting ready to make the turn, tailing the car in front. "And it's not that I don't agree that the dress and the wig looked good on you. But you have to admit they looked better on Eunji. It was _tailored_ for her."

"Ugh, don't remind me."

He knows they made the turn safely but that's the last thing he remembers before something (another car, purposefully going towards them as he will learn later) crashes against them, sending him against the door, and he loses all consciousness.

***

There's only so many things one can do in the middle of the entrance of his building, and so many times Hakyeon can read his own mail before it becomes boring, but there's nothing better to do while he rests his arm for a while. He tries not to be discouraged by the way he can't go grocery shopping without resting frequently. It's not that he's not strong enough, it's just that those are too many bags to carry with one arm.

He's lucky neither Sanghyuk or Hongbin are close, or they would make him remember this moment for the rest of his life. He's very focused on how high his water bill is when he feels a nudge on his good arm.

"Interesting read?" Jisoo's smile is playful, spying up on what he's reading.

Hakyeon laughs, not even bothering trying to explain himself. Jisoo nods to the bags at his feet.

"Need help?"

Hakyeon looks at them and then back to Jisoo. "Oh, no thank you." Help would be nice but a part of him wants to be able to do this himself, even if it takes him more time. _I can manage_ , he wants to say, but he doesn't get to because Jisoo has already grabbed the bags and is walking to the elevator himself.

"Hey!" Hakyeon exclaims, catching up with him. "I could have done it on my own."

"That doesn't mean you didn't need some help," Jisoo answers, smile still in place, not even a little apologetic. "Besides," he continues, moving in front of Hakyeon and leaning in so that he’s  looking him in the eye, "I owed you one."

When the elevator arrives, Hakyeon doesn't know how much time has passed, but has determined that Jisoo's eyes are very, very nice.

 

 

"So I haven't seen you around much," Jisoo says, and it's such a vague attempt at small talk after the moment they just had that Hakyeon feels like laughing.

"Yeah," Hakyeon answers, noncommittally, "coincidence, I guess."

"I guess," Jisoo agrees, but glances at his arm warily, "I just wondered what kind of thing you do to end up with a broken arm."

Hakyeon doesn't feel like lying, so he avoids the question altogether. "Awwww," he coos, "you're so cute.” He moves a little closer before continuing. “Are you worried about me?" he teases, looking up at him. The elevator arrives at their floor then. He hears the sound, but doesn't bother moving.

Jisoo stays still for a while, too, looking intensely at him. "What if I am? Would I get to see more of you?"

He knows Jisoo is probably teasing him and that the seriousness on his face does not mean as much as it appears to. He _knows_ , and yet here he is, smile gone from his face and blushing like a teenager.

The moment stretches, the door closes and they stay inside. Hakyeon is not sure how much time they spend like that, but he can't say he cares. It's been a long time since he's felt like this, and even though he shouldn't, for many, many reasons. But he's bored and he's going to be out of service for a couple of months _at least_ , and a little fun won’t hurt.

He's about to lean towards Jisoo when the doors open again. He checks, out of habit, and sees Taekwoon. Taekwoon, with wide eyes, hands in his pockets, surprised. Taekwoon, taking a step back, still not saying a word. Hakyeon wakes up from his daze upon seeing him, takes a step towards him.

"Taekwoon."

Another step back. And another. Hakyeon doesn't know what to say, his name being the only thing in his mind, like a mantra. " _Taekwoon_ ," he repeats, a little desperate.

"Sorry to interrupt," Taekwoon says, finally, his voice weak. He catches himself there, though, Hakyeon can see it. His posture, his look changes, he clears his throat. And when he repeats the same phrase before leaving, not looking back, it has nothing of the vulnerability from before. Hakyeon is not sure which one hurts more. None of them should hurt anymore.

(He finds a folder marked as _Confidential_ , and who knows how much it costed Taekwoon to bring that out, with a note that reads " _Get well soon_ " in Taekwoon's handwriting under his door. He doesn't dare to open it for days.)

***

Hakyeon has never liked driving one of the larger vans to undercover missions because, truth to be told, they tend not to be very... discreet. But he has to admit that the space in the back is very useful when changing before said mission, even with all the tracking equipment in place.

"Don't you think it's a little weird?" Hongbin says. His voice is muffled by the T-shirt he's taking off, quickly picking up the white dress shirt they are changing into.

"What is?" Hakyeon asks. They just went over the details of today's mission and it was all clear a minute ago. It’s a simple retrieval mission: the package will arrive as a checked-in suitcase, they just have to sneak into the airport as personnel, get the suitcase, and get out. He's so focused going over the little details, checking everything again, that he almost misses Hongbin's answer.

"That you had to rush through your previous missions because you were discovered," Hongbin says, not looking at Hakyeon. All his attention on the reflection of his tie on the rear view mirror, knotting it before undoing it again. "Hani was commenting on it the other day, how odd it is given  your previous record, and I agree—" Unsatisfied by how his tie looks, he undoes the knot completely, giving up on finishing the sentence altogether. Hakyeon stops buttoning his shirt. Hongbin has a point. He had been thinking that he was just having a strike of bad luck, but the fact is that it's all a little too suspicious.

"Obviously it must be a coincidence but..." Hongbin starts again when he finishes the knot for the third time, unaware of Hakyeon's reaction, but trails off, frustrated when the knot still does not look decent at all.

"What if it's not?" Hakyeon interrupts, voicing their concerns at last. He makes Hongbin turn around so he can fix his tie himself. It makes no sense to brush it off if they are both thinking about it.

Hongbin waits until they are both done preparing themselves, concentrating in correctly putting earpieces in place and guns loaded, to talk about it again. "Are you saying you've become that bad of an agent?" he comments in a low voice, taking the opportunity to test out the mic on his wrist.

Hakyeon side-eyes him, "Ha, ha," he says, sarcastically, making Hongbin smile, "but I'm serious. What if someone is trying to sabotage our missions?"

Hongbin sobers up. "Then we'd have a very big problem."

Hakyeon doesn't answer. He'll have to talk about it with Wonshik and probably report the suspicion to Sojin. He thinks about telling Taekwoon but decides against it.

The closer they get to the airport back entrance, the more people they pass. Hakyeon is so engrossed in his thoughts that he almost misses a familiar face staring at him, a hand waving enthusiastically in his direction. When he spots Jisoo's face he stops abruptly, drawing Hongbin's attention to him.

"Hyung?" Hongbin says, turning to look at him.

"Shit," he whispers. This is why it's not good to get friendly with anyone outside of work. You never know when you're going to stumble across them. With Hakyeon's luck lately, of course it would be in the middle of a time-sensitive mission. Hongbin catches on and sees Jisoo walking towards them, friendly and surprised smile on his face.

"Who is that," Hongbin asks, trying to keep a calm expression that Hakyeon knows he's not really feeling, "and where do you know him from?"

"My neighbor," he answers, simply. He'll give any other explanations later, he figures. They need to go, he doesn't have time for this, but if he wants to keep his real life cover he can't just ignore him. "Go ahead," he says in an aside to Hongbin, still smiling at Jisoo. "I'll catch up with you in a bit." He waits until Hongbin nods and continues his way before he walks towards Jisoo, "Hey! What are you doing here?"

"What are _you_ doing here?" Jisoo returns, stopping only a couple steps away from him.

"A man has to keep his secrets," Hakyeon laughs, and winks at him. It's easy, he realizes, to fall back on this, even if he's working, even as he hears Hongbin making disgusting noises in his ear.

"I'm working, actually," Jisoo answers. He nods towards the van, _their_ van, Hakyeon realizes, looking in the direction of Jisoo's nod. "And it seems like you are, too."

"I am, actually," Hakyeon answers, as vague as possible. Inside, he’s frantically coming up with some lie in case he needs it. His hands move nervously to his hair, to his ears, checking that the plug is still in place. It's a nervous tic, but hopefully Jisoo doesn't know him enough to know that. He hears Hongbin's voice then, calling for his attention through his earpiece, and sees him standing right beside one of the airport side doors, having already opened it, and waiting for him, "And," he says, pointing to Hongbin, mentally thanking whatever made him call him then, "I should go now but... see you around?"

"Sure!" Jisoo takes a step back. Hakyeon salutes, getting on his way, but he doesn't get too far before Jisoo calls him. "And, Hakyeon?" he says, voice loud, carrying over the space between them. Hakyeon stops, turns around. "Good luck," he says simply, and Hakyeon smiles before turning and running to Hongbin.

***

The security check was supposed to be unattended, and the door behind it—the one leading to the baggage warehouse—most definitely shouldn't have a security person guarding it. It had been like that for a month; it was not airport protocol. They should have only needed a personnel card to get past the machine, which they did. And while entering should not have been the problem, Eunji had still made sure they had files in place in case they were stopped at some point.

There was no way they wouldn't be stopped _and_ caught if they tried to go on with their plan.

"I can't believe this," Hongbin hisses, "how did they _know_?"

They have not been seen yet, pretending to have some coffee by the machines, but if they don't start moving soon they _will_ be seen, and then they won't even be able to go in.

"Fuck," Hakyeon hisses back, moves to throw the empty cup he's holding. He pretends to check his hair in the reflection of the machine to buy some more time. "Go back to the van, and come pick me up at the southern exit..."

"But—"

"I'll try to get the suitcase, sneak in on them somehow, search for another exit, and meet you there in half an hour. If I'm not back by then, _go_."

"I'm not doing that," Hongbin insists, and it's almost cute how he sounds like he means it. They don't have any other choice though.

Hakyeon turns to look at him. "Yes, you are. Because if I'm not back that means they have me." There's a sound behind them. Hakyeon shuts up and searches for the source of the noise. It’s the metal detector. He takes off his microphone and earpiece before bending down to get his gun, handing it to Hongbin as discreetly as he can. He waits until Hongbin has hidden everything, and continues, voice lower, "And they can't get both of us."

Hongbin is not convinced (his face has always given him away) but he goes anyway.

Once he's out of his sight, Hakyeon turns around.

It's his turn now.

***

"What are you thinking about?"

Hakyeon was playing with Taekwoon's cat, head on his lap, enjoying one of the rare free days off they had together. The sun was hitting on his face and he felt warm, at home just by being there. Hakyeon was comfortable like that, and he was considering taking a nap, when Taekwoon finally spoke. "That mission we had in Tokyo, that last time."

Hakyeon hummed, remembering it. He almost got shot and they managed to go to a cat café together before coming back home. It was a good one. He could probably talk Sojin into sending them together sometime soon. They made a good team.

"I think we should break up."

And just like that, Hakyeon's world shattered.

He sat up, alarmed, scaring the cat off with the movement, turning around to face Taekwoon, who looked away, eyes fixed at some point on the floor. He had been doing that a lot lately, Hakyeon noticed. He had been quieter than usual lately, avoiding his eyes, but Hakyeon couldn’t seem to wrangle the problem out of him. It wasn’t that noticeable, Taekwoon being quiet by nature, but Hakyeon could usually tell the difference.

He must have heard wrong. "What?"

"I think..." he started, and Hakyeon knew better than to push him, even though he didn’t really think he wanted to hear whatever Taekwoon was going to say. "I think we should stop seeing each other."

Time froze. They stayed like that for a while, Hakyeon looking at Taekwoon, mentally begging to explain something, not able to find his words. Taekwoon, looking at the floor like it was the source of all his problems.

And in the silence, Hakyeon reflected. They were good together. Yes, Taekwoon had been silent lately, but their relationship couldn’t be the thing troubling him. They had their bad moments, of course, but there’s nothing that might have made Taekwoon come to that decision. He thought and thought and Taekwoon didn’t move and he finally knew what to say. He wasn’t surprised his voice sounded wrecked.

"Why?"

 _That_ made Taekwoon look up. He looked as broken as Hakyeon felt, but he had an answer ready, this time. "I worry about you. I always worry about you." _Isn't that a good thing?_ Hakyeon wanted to answer, but Taekwoon continued before he had the opportunity. "I know that this is our job, but I can't do my job properly when I also worry about you."

That confused Hakyeon and it also made him angry. There were a lot of reasons to stop seeing each other, from Hakyeon’s constant nagging to not having enough time to spend together. He never thought that their work, which they both enjoyed and they were really good at, would be one of them. "But what has that have to do with us?"

Taekwoon grunted something, and went to his room, not answering his question. Hakyeon followed him, only to find him taking out all of Hakyeon's clothes that had found its way to his closet and putting them into a bag.

"What the _fuck_ are you doing? Would you stop for a moment and talk to me?" he exclaimed, taking the bag away from his hands.

"There's nothing to talk about."

"Of course there is, Taekwoon. Look at me," Hakyeon pleaded. He needed to fix this, he needed to, even if he didn't know it was broken in the first place. Even if it was too late.

"No, there isn't! You were hurt because of _me_! They almost got you because I was distracted." The words came out too fast, too loud. Like he never planned to say them, but had repeated it a thousand times in his mind. It felt like a bomb.

The silence stretched one more time, only this time they were looking at each other.

"You can't just expect me to hear you say you want to cut me out and leave without that explanation."

Taekwoon breathed out. Hakyeon took it as a good sign, as a sign that they could talk this out, and went closer.

It didn't help. "I don't want..." Taekwoon started, looking at Hakyeon, before turning away, facing the window. "You have to leave."

"But—"

"Please, Hakyeon," and he sounded so _sad._

So he left.

***

 

In retrospect, trying to run away might not have been the best idea.

Not if he ends up waking up tied to a chair in some room with his body hurting in several places and barely any memory of how he got there.

He breathes deeply, calms himself down, and looks around. The wall in front of him is entirely made of glass, lighting up the whole room. He looks around as much as his restraints allow him and spots a couple of shelves in each of the walls and some kind of table on his right, out of reach, but as much as he tries to turn around he can’t get a view of the door. He’s probably in an office, or some kind of archive room, he concludes.

He's trying to guess the approximate time from the length of the shadows casted by the furniture by the window, getting frustrated by the increasing headache and despite his training, he can't seem to know what time is it. He's almost happy to hear the sound of a door behind him opening, distracting him from both his failure and his headache, until an unfamiliar face appears in his field of vision, smiling upon seeing him awake.

"Good morning," she says, cheerful, and Hakyeon's head hurts when he hears her voice. He tries to not let it show on his face, but he doesn't think he quite manages when her smiles widens a bit after just a second.

“So feisty,” she comments, and leaves before Hakyeon can even think something to reply. He listens to the sound of her walking away, if only to be able to know when she's coming back. What he hears, though, is her stopping close to the door, and talking to someone. He can't make out the words they are saying, but can hear that she's talking to a man.

The headache keeps getting worse, and his consciousness is slipping again, but the door is suddenly being open again and he can't fall unconscious now.

He thinks he's hallucinating when he sees Jisoo step in front of him. There's no way the actual Jisoo is here, he thinks, until the hallucination grabs his chin, tilts his face up, and yes, that's Jisoo in front of him, and not looking at all surprised. Very much unlike Hakyeon, probably, who’s only able to gape at him.

"Well, hello," Jisoo says in voice tone Hakyeon has never heard before. Colder, more firm, secure of himself—and now that he notices, that can also be applied to his general demeanour.

"What are you doing here?" Hakyeon says when he finds his voice.

"Come on, Hakyeon. You're smarter than that," he says, tone playful, but expression not changing one bit, "I'm sure you can figure it out." Jisoo drops his chin and moves to get a chair from somewhere, so he can sit in front of Hakyeon. Hakyeon stays silent for a long time, unable to process it. His heart rate speeds up, throbs painfully against his head.

"Why are you doing this?"

"Oh, Hakyeon," Jisoo says, and sounds almost disappointed, "it's nothing personal. You, better than anyone, should understand that this is just a job." He leaning close to him. "You are good, Hakyeon. You are surrounded by a good team, and are in a good agency, but you're especially good. The kind of intel you… recover is very difficult to get, and you seem to have got a lot of that anyway. Secrets are valuable, aren’t they. But they are supposed to stay _secret_ , and while stealing them you have pissed some people that, well, shouldn't be pissed. But I don't have anything against you. I quite like you, in fact, and enjoyed our time together."

Hakyeon knows Jisoo is playing with him, he knows this tone of voice. He has used it himself, in the past, if the mission required it. He knows where this is going to end. If Jisoo doesn't kill him today, then he will die under strange circumstances.

Something must show in his face, because Jisoo smiles. "I see you're starting to catch up," he says. "That will make things easier."

Hakyeon knows indeed, and knows that the death will only happen when they have all the information they need from him.

Such a shame they are not going to get any.

***

 

It's been hours since the headache has stopped being a problem.

Probably around the time Jisoo had decided to stop trying to lure information out of him and made the girl from before —“I don’t think I ever introduced you to Soobin”— to come inside and apply a more aggressive method of interrogation.

He doesn't even know how much time passes, can’t even feel some parts of his body. It's been awhile since the sun has set, the only source of light being the airport lights from outside.

Hakyeon thinks he hears a steps approaching fast, the faint noise of fighting and firing guns in the background, but it could also be a hallucination. At this point, it wouldn't surprise him. He only realizes it’s real when Jisoo's smirk slides off his face and stops looking at him, but rather, at some point behind him.

The noises get closer and yes, those are definitely guns being fired. He can even make out voices now. Suddenly the door to the office bangs open, someone shoots and in a second Jisoo takes a step back and falls to the floor, hitting his head hard when he does. It's only when hands start tugging at the ropes holding him still that he lets himself hope.

He sees Sanghyuk getting close to Jisoo's body, gun still held up. He doesn't think he's been happier to see Sanghyuk in his whole life. "Are you okay?" Sanghyuk asks, not taking his eyes off Jisoo's body. Hakyeon is about to answer when he hears Wonshik's voice at his back.

"Can you help me untie him?" Wonshik asks. "They did a really good job with this, I wasn't expecting this kind of work."

Sanghyuk waits a moment to gauge if Jisoo is going to stir any time soon before kneeling in front of Hakyeon, gun by his side, and working on the knots on one of Hakyeon's legs.

The knot around his wrists loosens then and he moves his arms to the front, flexing his fingers. Wonshik is helping Sanghyuk to untie the knots on his legs when he sees a flash of movement in front of him. Hakyeon sweeps up Sanghyuk's gun from the floor and aims at Jisoo's head before he has had time to get to his own weapon.

"Don't move," he says. Jisoo freezes. Wonshik and Sanghyuk stop working on the knots when they hear his voice, thinking it’s directed to them. They focus his attention on him at the same time, following where his arm is pointing directly to Jisoo’s forehead when they do. It takes a couple of seconds for Sanghyuk to react before swearing and rushing to tie Jisoo up before coming back to finish untying his legs.

It’s not until Wonshik gets up once he's finished that he notices Hakyeon still gripping the gun tightly, still pointing at Jisoo’s tied body, and carefully takes the gun from his hand. "Let's go."

***

His head starts pounding again as soon as they start to make their way back to the exit.

He registers meeting both Jaehwan and Hongbin keeping track of everyone they have tied up while on the way to the warehouse, where Wonshik has told him all the cars are waiting. He's absolutely thrilled to see Hongbin is okay, and he can see the relieved look on his face when Hongbin spots him from the other side of the corridor, even though his tone might betray that. Jaehwan comes to hug him, checking for injuries discreetly while they talk, making Hakyeon smile.

He sees Sojin calling and organizing everyone for clean up. She stops to smile and nod at him when she sees him, sizing him up at a distance before getting back to work. He'll have to talk to her soon enough, when he tells her what happened. His step falters and he almost falls on top on Wonshik, who looks at him funnily.

He hears Wonshik's phone ring further away than it really is and has to blink a couple of times to focus his vision. Before he notices it, the phone is on his ear and Eunji is screaming at him. He doesn't think he can remember the entire thing but the message of, _"I'm going to kill you and it's going to be so bad, you're going to wish that the asshole who kidnapped you actually killed you,_ " was clear even to Hakyeon's slow brain.

He loses control of his body when he's getting near the car, Wonshik waiting him by the open door. He only knows his eyes close and the eyelids are too heavy to lift them up anymore.

He feels like falling when someone catches him.

"Is he okay?" he hears someone ask. _I am_ , he wants to say, but nothing gets past his lips. Maybe he isn’t that okay, after all.

He falls unconscious before anyone answers.

***

He wakes up in a familiar bedroom. It's been so long since he's been here, that Hakyeon is convinced it must be a dream. He feels a weight on his chest and sees a black cat curled up on top of him. _Exactly like Taekwoon's_ , he thinks, so of course this must be a dream.

He only realizes how much of not a dream this is when he tries to sit up and his head and arms scream in pain, giving up on movement after a second. The cat looks at him for a second, judging him for trying to move, before he gets back to his initial position.

He's about to call for help when the door to the room opens and Taekwoon enters, phone in hand. Hakyeon doesn't know what to think that Taekwoon looks as surprised as he feels.

"You're awake," he says as he sits carefully on the bed, trying to not sit on Hakyeon.

"Yeah," he says. His throat feels dry, so it comes out more like a whisper.

"How are you feeling?" Taekwoon asks, warily. Hakyeon can't blame him.

"My everything hurts," he says, and looks over the window and how the sunbeams through the curtains make everything seem more ethereal, "and to be honest, I'm still not completely sure this is not a dream."

It surprises him to hear Taekwoon laugh softly at that, looks back at him in time to see him reaching for some medicines on the bedside table, starting a new blister pack. What surprises him more is what Taekwoon says next.

"Do you dream often about me?"

And it's such like the old times that it takes Taekwoon a couple of seconds to realize what he's said, pausing his movements when he does. It's a weird moment, but Hakyeon pushes through it, ignoring the comment completely, reaching for the medicine himself.

"Why am I here?" he says after a while, waiting for the medicine to take effect.

"You needed constant supervision, after... all that happened to you," he says, careful, avoiding to meet his eyes, "and your place wasn't safe anymore."

Hakyeon nods, readjusting his position without disturbing the cat sleeping on top of him. It makes sense, if someone got that close to him, was inside his home, and Hakyeon didn't even notice he was dangerous, who knows what kind of things could be waiting for him when he came back. He takes a hand out of the cocoon he's inside of to pet her. She purrs when he does, barely opening his eyes to acknowledge his presence.

His eyes drift to Taekwoon naturally, and he's surprised to see him already looking at him. He's even more surprised by what he finds in those eyes, and how this time he doesn't look away.

The phone rings then, startling them both, and the moment is broken.

"Will you be okay?" he asks, Hakyeon feels a familiar wave of affection for him.

"Yes, don't worry," and although he doesn't seem convinced, he exits the room before answering.

He falls asleep before Taekwoon can come back.

***

Hakyeon tries not to think what it means to be there, in Taekwoon's home, when the things between them are like they are. He doesn't know if he's the one that requested this or if it was imposed on him. He doesn't dare to ask, too afraid of the answer.

After a couple of days of rest, Taekwoon allows Hakyeon to get up from bed, but not to get outside, unless it's the tiny balcony the flat has.

Hakyeon has missed this. It's not hard for him to admit it, he had been devastated when Taekwoon left him, still is, so it's almost too easy for Hakyeon to pretend nothing happened, to slip into old habits. Like sneaking behind Taekwoon as he cooks, or cover him up with a blanket when he falls asleep on the couch at night, ruffling his hair with his fingers.

There are little differences, too. Shared looks that now mean something else. Almost kisses that never are. Little reminders of everything that's different now.

He wonders if he'll ever get it back.

***

"I was wrong," Taekwoon says out of the blue one morning. Hakyeon is resting against the balcony door, enjoying the city view, and looks back at where Taekwoon is sitting in the couch, the book he was reading forgotten in his lap.

"Hmm?"

"It didn't make it any easier. Pushing you away. In any case, it made it harder because I wasn't there to help."

Hakyeon stays silent for a while, not really knowing what to say. He doesn't know what this means, or what Taekwoon wants from this, if this is his way to get to start a conversation or apologize. But Taekwoon stops talking, waiting, measuring Hakyeon's reaction. Hakyeon doesn't know what to do.

"It wouldn't have made a difference about what happened," he says, at last. "Hongbin was there and he couldn't do anything. So I don't see how much it would have changed if you... were there."

He knows that's not the whole truth. Even if they weren’t together, he knows he wouldn't have managed to convince Taekwoon the way he convinced Hongbin. Taekwoon would have refused to let him go inside alone. And they would have used Taekwoon, hurt him, to make Hakyeon talk.

Hakyeon is lost in his own thoughts after that. In all the things that could have gone differently, in all the things that could have gone even worse. When he looks up, he's surprised to see Taekwoon still looking at him. He offers a tentative smile, and is surprised, and more than a little pleased, to see Taekwoon smiling in return.

***

It's weird, how these things happen. How one night they are watching a movie together in opposite ends of the couch and the next thing he knows, Taekwoon is falling asleep against his shoulder.

How he manages to move him so that he's resting on Hakyeon's legs, finding himself waving his hand through his hair, petting him softly. Thinking about all the things that changed between them once they talked. It's not like everything is perfectly okay again, but he can feel himself healing, the hurt starting to fade away when he thinks about him when he's alone or when he finds himself looking at him.

How Taekwoon wakes up disoriented, and looks up at him with sleepy eyes and Hakyeon forgets all about the movie because he only wants to bend down and kiss him.

How Hakyeon does it, kisses him softly, just like that, because he can. And Taekwoon's fingers holding him close after the initial surprise. Not even opening his eyes before kissing him again, slowly, as if trying to convince himself that this is real. That he's not going to go anytime soon.

How he feels his cat—their cat, admits finally to himself— curl beside him on the couch, not before rubbing herself all over his side. Taekwoon feeling it against his head and laughing quietly, thumbs caressing his face absently. The laugh doesn't stop and instead of bothered for not getting an explanation, he feels warm inside because it's been too long since he's heard that laugh, since he's felt it this close.

How he gets one anyway, without prompting. "I think she has missed you more than I did," Taekwoon whispers, and the way he says it makes Hakyeon feel like laughing and crying at the same time.

How he wants to tease him and make him detail _how much, exactly, did he miss him_ , but settles on kissing Taekwoon again.

How it's already dawn when Hakyeon wakes up on top on Taekwoon, on that same couch, their bodies tangled to fit the tiny space. Hurting everywhere but feeling more rested than he's been in months.

 

How he feels like home.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Merry Christmas! And a lovely new year ♥


End file.
